LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar
lidam | Louvain-la-Neuve, Mons
The LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar is an informal forum where researcher present their work in progress in details and receive criticism and feedback from colleagues.
Presentations on the blackboard are also welcome. PhD students entering the job market this year are strongly encouraged to present their job market paper.
Practical details
Who are the Organizers?
When does the LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar take place?
The LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar takes place on Tuesdays from 12:45 to 14:00.
Where does the LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar take place?
The LIDAM Internal Economics Seminar takes place at the LECL60, Leclercq Building, Place Montesquieu 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve.
Book your sandwich
Sandwiches are provided to participants. To make sure to get one, do not forget to register by the Friday before the meeting by filling this form.
Programme - Academic year 2025 - 2026
September
16 Johannes Johnen (CORE/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Consumer Protection in Economies with Limited Attention
Abstract
We investigate the effects of consumer-protection regulations limiting post-purchase harm when there are many markets and consumers have limited attention to examine prices or product features. Such regulation lowers the attention necessary for valuable purchases, which can allow a consumer to purchase in more markets, or serve to induce competition. The first benefit is most important when few markets are regulated, while the second emerges when regulatory scope is sufficiently broad to create “spare” --- i.e., in equilibrium unused --- attention. Because little spare attention can enforce competition in many markets, consumer welfare can be highly non-linear in regulatory scope. The benefits of regulating a market often accrue in other markets, and there is a sense in which overly tight regulation outperforms overly lax regulation. Broad consumer protection can help the economy reach productive efficiency, and when this is achieved less regulation may suffice.
(joint with Paul Heidhues and Botond Koszegi)
23 Marco Pinchetti (Banque de France)
Geopolitical Risk and Inflation: The Role of Energy Markets
Abstract
Geopolitical shocks are not all alike – different classes of geopolitical shocks can have different macroeconomic implications, particularly on inflation. This paper exploits the comovement between the Geopolitical Risk Index (GPR) and oil prices across major geopolitical events to disentangle two types of geopolitical shocks within a structural VAR model for the US economy. The VAR estimates suggest that geopolitical shocks associated with disruptions in energy markets are on average inflationary and contractionary. In contrast, geopolitical shocks associated with macroeconomic developments that are unrelated to energy markets are on average deflationary and contractionary. To validate this interpretation, the paper exploits the heterogeneity across sectoral output and prices of the US economy to show that a sector’s response to a geopolitical shock depends on its energy intensity. Sectors characterized by higher energy intensity are subject to larger output losses and price increases in response to geopolitical energy shocks.
30 Nathan Hancart (University of Oslo)
The Optimal Menu of Tests
Abstracts
A decision-maker can test a privately informed agent prior to making a decision. Instead of choosing the test himself, the decision-maker requires the agent to choose the test from a menu. By offering a menu, the decision-maker can use the agent’s choice as an additional source of information. The decision-maker must accept or reject the agent who always wants to be accepted. I show that the decision-maker does not benefit from commitment in this context. Using this result, I show in several economic environments when the decision-maker benefits from offering a choice of tests. When the set of feasible tests contains a most informative test, I provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the introduction of a less informative test in the optimal menu. I also show when the decision-maker benefits from a menu when tests vary in difficulty or types are multi-dimensional.
October
7 Kam Pui Tsang (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Dirty Green Transition: Chinese Critical Mineral Investment and Protest in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
China has become a leading investor in critical mineral extraction, a sector central to energy transition technologies. These investments often attract heightened scrutiny and are frequently associated with rising social unrest in host regions. This paper investigates how Chinese-owned critical mineral mining projects shape local protest dynamics across fifteen sub-Saharan African countries. Leveraging a novel panel dataset of geocoded Chinese critical mineral mining investments and a triple-differences design, I show that the opening of Chinese-owned mines raises the likelihood of local protest by 15 percentage points and increases protest events by 52% compared to similar non-Chinese mines. These effects are moderated in settings with stronger democratic institutions and higher-quality governance but show no consistent variation with measures of environmental sensitivity. Suggestive evidence points to substantial negative environmental externalities as a plausible channel linking Chinese critical mineral mining investment to elevated unrest.
14 Gianmarco Luu (CORE/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Deceptive Counterfeits and Consumer Protection
Abstract
Deceptive counterfeits—fake products that consumers purchase unintentionally—are an increasing concern in e-commerce, posing financial and health risks. Particularly dangerous examples include counterfeit pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, electronics, and automotive parts. We develop a model in which some consumers mistakenly believe fake products are genuine. Our first contribution is to introduce a framework where some consumers are harmed by fakes directly through unintentional purchases - the first model to directly analyze how deceptive counterfeits harm consumers. The extent of unintentional purchases depends on the degree of competition between counterfeit products and the authentic brand. We analyze two enforcement strategies: persecuting counterfeit sellers and providing authenticity aids. The effectiveness of these strategies depends on whether the brand competes for deceivable consumers. When a brand chooses to compete in this segment, both the brand and counterfeits offer the same price range. In such cases, authenticity aids can backfire—by shifting equilibrium prices, they may increase unintentional counterfeit purchases. Conversely, when a brand withdraws from competing for deceivable consumers—as in traditional counterfeit markets where fakes are more easily recognized—authenticity aids reduce counterfeit purchases. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between deceptive and non-deceptive counterfeits when designing effective anti-counterfeit policies. Finally, we study the incentives of a platform to fight deceptive fakes, arguing that more established platforms may have stronger incentives to protect consumers.
21 Margaux Clarr (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Strategic Drones
Abstract
US drone strikes are popular with the electorate and overseen by the President. This paper investigates whether the US President uses drone strikes strategically for political gain. We document that US drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen are significantly more likely before US elections, when popularity has high payoffs. We find no changes for unpopular piloted airstrikes. Consistent with unusually high drone approvals, abnormally cloudy skies before US elections lead to a postponement or redirection of strikes to other target countries. To examine whether drone strikes are used strategically to divert attention from damaging media coverage, we gather closed captions from all cable TV coverage of the President and analyze their tone using natural language processing. Drone strikes are more likely in weeks when news anchors cover the President more negatively, a relation that holds both during and outside of election periods. We find no such relationship for piloted airstrikes or during weeks of high news pressure.
28 Charles de Pierpont de Burnot (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
The Roman roots of the Western European trade linkages
Abstract
This research examines the persistent legacy of Roman integration in current trade linkages across Western Europe. Using a sample of 16,256 Western region pairs, it provides evidence that regions jointly integrated for a longer period within the Roman states trade significantly more with each other today. Part of this influence reflects subsequent political history, the current transport networks, which sometimes follow past Roman roads, as well as geographic features that may have induced trade without the Roman intervention, such as resource differences and geographic connectivity. However, a remaining sizeable part of the estimated net effect of the Roman rule is attributable to cultural convergence measured by preference and linguistic similarities. These findings highlight a long-lasting influence of past political and network (infra)structures on the European market integration.
November
4 Vincent Notte (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Exchange rate pass-through and monetary policy: a counterfactual SVAR analysis
Abstract
Understanding how exchange rate fluctuations are transmitted to inflation is critical for monetary policy design. While former literature finds that the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) varies with the underlying shocks, it largely abstracts from the role of endogenous monetary policy responses. This paper investigates the contribution of monetary policy to shock-dependent ERPT. Using a structural VAR framework, we identify a broad set of structural shocks and estimate ERPT across 26 emerging markets and advanced economies. We then construct a counterfactual scenario in which monetary policy remains unresponsive to these shocks. Our results show that 90 percent of the observed variation in ERPT across shocks stems from the monetary policy response. When policy reactions are neutralized, the ERPT becomes nearly uniform across shocks and, on average, twice as large. These findings disentangle structural from policy-driven components of the shock-dependent ERPT, thereby providing a more informative measure for central bank decision-making.
18 Karine Moukaddem (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Dreaming Beyond Borders: Aspirations, Networks, and Migration Intentions of Young Women in Lebanon
Abstract
Migration intentions are widely recognized as key precursors to actual migration. Using nationally representative data on 1,500 young women in Lebanon, we examine two stages of migration intention: the desire to migrate and the expectation of doing so. Overall, 41% express a desire to migrate internationally, while 16% expect to realize this desire within five years. Migration desire is more common among women with lower wealth and education, whereas migration expectation is higher among those who are younger, unmarried, and living with their parents. Both outcomes are positively linked to recent adverse shocks. Social exposure also matters: women with family or close friends who intend to migrate—or who have already experienced migration—are significantly more likely to express migration desire and expectation. Finally, we explore how aspirations in education, career, and family relate to migration intentions. Higher educational and career aspirations are strongly associated with a greater desire to migrate, but only aspirations that women expect to achieve—including marriage age aspirations—are linked to migration expectations. Together, these findings highlight how economic conditions, family context, and personal aspirations jointly shape young women’s migration intentions.
25 Jing Su (CORE/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Consumers’ perception of fairness on data-based personalized pricing
Abstract
Online platforms increasingly employ consumer data to infer their attributes and implement personalized pricing strategies. This practice has generated considerable debate concerning fairness. Consumers’ perceptions of fairness vary depending on the types of data utilized and the inferred attributes upon which pricing decisions are based. Our project is to examine which types of data and inferred attributes are perceived as more acceptable by consumers, and how these perceptions are influenced by the inference process linking data to attributes. The findings are expected to provide evidence that can help policymakers and regulatory authorities in monitoring and evaluating data-based pricing practices.
December
2 Charles de Beauffort (National Bank of Belgium)
Tradable Goods Demand and Fiscal Policy in HANK
Abstract
We revisit the effects of government consumption expansions in an open-economy New Keynesian model with two production sectors—tradable goods and non-tradable services. Empirically, we show that both consumption and output rise in each sector, even though government consumption is concentrated in services. Introducing household heterogeneity helps resolve these previously puzzling sectoral co-movements. Our quantitative framework incorporates local content in distributed foreign goods and imperfect labor mobility across sectors. Disposable income increases with public demand, boosting private consumption in both sectors. Under plausible calibration, these income-driven consumption gains outweigh the adverse competitiveness effects, generating a positive response of tradable output. Finally, when we allow government consumption to contain a realistic share of tradable inputs, the heterogeneous-agent model delivers sectoral dynamics that closely align with those implied by structural Bayesian VAR estimates for the United States.
9 David de la Croix (IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
Forced Displacement of Scholars and Academic Output During the Scientific Revolution
16 Anna Jolivet (UNamur)
Kinship Structure and Fertility: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
We examine the relationship between the social organization of communities, in particular their emphasis on lineage organization, and fertility. In lineage-based societies descent is traced primarily through either the mother's or the father's side, which strongly determines social identity, increases cohesion, and reinforces interdependence within the lineage. We show that, across countries, unilineal societies have higher fertility levels. These results are validated within sub-Saharan Africa using a spatial regression discontinuity design along ancestral ethnic boundaries. Among mechanisms explaining this difference, we highlight the role of the motive to continue the lineage.